Audio Deepfakes: The Emerging Threat to UK Elections and the Urgent Call for Vigilance

Alert issued to British lawmakers about the dangers of audio deepfakes potentially disrupting elections

Audio deepfakes, which are less expensive to produce than their video counterparts, present a greater challenge in terms of validation. There have been multiple instances globally where elections have faced attempts at disruption through such means.

Political reporter @tamcohen

Sunday, June 2, 2024, 11:

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Experts caution that UK politicians need to brace themselves as AI-generated deepfakes disrupt elections elsewhere.

"Let me know what you ate this morning," Mike Narouei from ControlAI suggests, capturing the moment on his laptop. I spend about 15 seconds describing my breakfast of toast and coffee, along with my trip to their office.

Almost immediately, I hear myself speaking, but the words are completely unexpected.

Stay tuned for the most recent news on the election

In the text I composed, I noted: "Deepfakes are highly convincing and possess the potential to undermine our political systems and erode confidence in the democratic process."

We've utilized complimentary software, requiring minimal technical expertise, and the entire process was completed almost instantly.

This is an example of an audio deepfake; producing video deepfakes typically requires more work. As numerous scammers utilize these technologies, there's significant worry about their effect on elections, especially in a year when about two billion people in the US, India, the UK, and several other countries are set to vote.

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During the previous Labour Party conference, Sir Keir Starmer was allegedly targeted by a fabricated video that showed him cursing at staff members. It was soon exposed as counterfeit. The creator of the video remains unknown.

This year, London Mayor Sadiq Khan became the subject of a misinformation campaign when counterfeit audio clips, purportedly of him making controversial comments about Remembrance weekend and advocating for pro-Palestine rallies, spread widely during a period of heightened community tension. He has since argued that new legislation is necessary to prevent such incidents.

Ciaran Martin, previously the head of the UK's National Cyber Security Centre, conveyed to Sky News that high-cost video forgeries might be less impactful and simpler to disprove compared to audio manipulations.

He expressed significant concerns about audio, noting, "Audio deepfakes are alarmingly simple to create and can be quite unsettling," he remarked. "When used strategically, they can be very influential."

He believes the most harmful incident involved a deepfake audio recording of President Biden, which was distributed to voters during the New Hampshire primaries in January of this year.

A prerecorded message featuring the president's voice urged voters to remain at home and "preserve" their votes for the upcoming November presidential election. Subsequently, a political consultant took credit for the message and has been charged and penalized $6 million.

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Professor Martin, who is currently teaching at the Blavatnik School of Government at Oxford University, commented, "The imitation of his voice was quite convincing, and there are anecdotes indicating that it fooled several people."

Primarily because this wasn't a communication that could be easily shared with others for their input, nor was it broadcasted on television for a wider audience to see. It was a personal phone call to their residence, leaving them to assess the situation largely by themselves.

"Specifically, targeted audio presents a significant risk at the moment, and unfortunately, there isn't a simple fix available. There's no single action, whether it's paying a fee or enacting specific legislation, that can instantly resolve this issue."

"In 2020, the United States effectively implemented a strategy involving a network of knowledgeable and accountable individuals across various segments of the electoral process to reduce and control potential harm."

He warns against overemphasizing the danger of deepfakes, noting they haven't yet resulted in widespread electoral harm.

He noted that a sophisticated counterfeit broadcast on Ukrainian television, supposedly showing a Ukrainian official admitting to a terrorist attack in Moscow, was ultimately dismissed as not credible.

The UK government has enacted a National Security Act that includes new crimes related to foreign meddling in the nation's democratic procedures.

The Online Safety Act mandates that technology firms remove specific content, and officials are consistently convening with social media entities throughout the pre-election phase.

Advocates for democracy are worried that not only foreign adversaries or solitary disruptors might employ deepfakes, but political parties could also potentially use them to interfere in democratic processes.

Polly Curtis, the chief executive of the think tank Demos, has urged political parties to establish a common set of principles for employing artificial intelligence.

She stated: "The danger lies in various groups, including international entities, political factions, and everyday citizens, producing material that muddles the distinction between fact and fiction.

"We aim for them to unite and reach a consensus on the application of these technologies during the election. It's important they commit to neither developing nor enhancing generative AI, and to clearly mark it whenever it's utilized."

"With the introduction of this cutting-edge technology amidst numerous ongoing elections, there's a significant risk that a major misinformation incident during a campaign could undermine public confidence in the information they receive."

Deepfakes have been used to manipulate significant electoral events.

Just hours before the polling stations were set to close in Slovakia's presidential race last year, a fabricated audio recording surfaced online featuring one of the contenders admitting to election fraud. The candidate implicated in the audio suffered a significant loss, and his opponent, who held pro-Russian views, emerged victorious.

Earlier this year, the UK government set up a Joint Election Security Preparations Unit, involving officials from Whitehall who collaborate with police and security agencies to tackle emerging threats.

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A spokesperson for the UK government stated: "Ensuring security is our top priority, and we are fully equipped to maintain the integrity of the election. We have strong measures in place to safeguard against any possible disruptions."

"The National Security Act includes measures to address the challenges posed by deepfake technologies during elections, and it is essential for social media companies to actively combat government-backed efforts that seek to disrupt the electoral process."

Shadow security minister Dan Jarvis stated, "Our democratic system is robust, and we must neither permit nor tolerate any efforts to compromise the sanctity of our electoral process."

"The swift advancement of AI technology necessitates that governments continuously stay ahead of malicious entities who aim to utilize deepfakes and disinformation to erode confidence in our democratic processes.

"Labour is committed to tirelessly addressing these challenges."

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